Puppy mill raid nets dozens of dogs

NEW ALBANY – More than 80 animals were seized Tuesday morning after Union County Sheriff’s Department investigators discovered a puppy mill.
The pets’ owners, whose names were not immediately released, surrendered the dogs to the Tupelo-Lee Humane Society, said its director, Debbie Hood.
Sheriff’s investigators contacted the humane society, which sent its animal control officer to verify the conditions of the mill and the animals, Hood said. A woman who answered the phone at the sheriff’s department confirmed the raid but had no details, and no one else was immediately available to comment.
A puppy mill is large-scale breeding operation that typically crowds dogs into substandard living quarters to produce as many puppies as possible for profit.
Hood said the animals – mostly small-breed dogs – were in bad shape, but most will be available for adoption through the Oxford-Lafayette Humane Society. The Oxford shelter accepted the dogs, along with a hamster, a rat, a guinea pig and a snake.
It’s unclear exactly how many animals were recovered, but a rough estimate was 81 or 82.
“We’re still entering them into the system,” said Oxford shelter employee Katie Rolley.
Contact Emily Le Coz at (662) 678-1588 or emily.lecoz@djournal.com.